U.S. House District 3: Brown faces unknown, underfunded candidates

August 7, 2010|By Mark K. Matthews, ORLANDO SENTINEL

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown of Jacksonville ran unopposed two years ago and a return trip to Congress this year appears only slightly more difficult, as the nine-term Democrat faces a field of unknown and under-funded candidates.

The Cook Political Report, a non-partisan election guide, ranks the race as "Solid Democrat" based largely on simple math: three times as many Democrat as Republicans live in her nine-county district, which runs from Jacksonville to Orlando and was drawn to increase black representation in Congress.

She faces three Republicans, one Democrat and one candidate with no party affiliation. Not one had more than $9,000 in campaign funds at the end of June, compared to Brown's nearly $143,000.

Still, Brown is not without controvery. Over the last two years, she has requested more than $800 million in funding for pet projects known as "earmarks." It's easily the highest total among House lawmakers from Central Florida and a major irritant to fiscal conservatives.

Brown shrugs off the complaints. For years, her campaign slogan has been "Corrine Delivers," and she brought home about $19 million in earmarks this year, including $2.3 million so the Navy could develop technology to avoid whales during military exercises.

Some of her past requests have included projects that would benefit current or former clients of the Virginia lobbying firm Alcalde & Fay, which employs her daughter, Shantrel Brown. Brown has refused to discuss her earmark requests.

That attitude infuriates Dean Black of Jacksonville, an AAMCO shop owner and one of the Republicans running against her. Black, 44, wants to reduce the role of the federal government, dissolve the IRS and cut corporate taxes, so that business can have more money to hire unemployed workers.

Black has earned some national recognition through an innovative fundraising technique.

For each contribution, Black will buy a sandbag -- eventually planning to deliver them in bulk to Brown's house. The move is aimed at highlighting a 2008 incident in which Brown got Jacksonville city workers to protect her home with sandbags during Tropical Storm Fay.

"It was perceived as an abuse of power," he said.

Black says he's collected hundreds of sandbags, but his fundraising still lags. His campaign had only about $1,200 in cash on June 30.

Meanwhile, Brown raised nearly $83,000 in April and May, with more than half coming from special interests such as unions and transportation lobbyists. Brown chairs the House railroads subcommittee, part of the House transportation committee.

She'll use some of that money in a primary fight against Scott Fortune, 54, a Democrat who specializes in workplace discrimination lawsuits and wants to raise the minimum wage to $12 an hour from the current rate of $7.25.

Facing Black in the Republican primary are two other political novices: auto technician Michael Yost, 56, of Jacksonville, and Chris Nwasike, 31, who serves as chair of the Northwest Jacksonville Economic Development Trust Fund.